The Puzzle Of The Rabbit And The Duck

Research background:The reader-response theory is based on the theory of the phenomenology and the hermeneutics, which is the independent theoretical system based on the reception practice of human being. The theory holds that any literary text has the indeterminacy, which is a multi-level unfulfilled schematic structure. From the perspective of the puzzle of the rabbit and the duck, the meaning of the text cannot be formed by itself; the reader must act on the text so that the meaning can be produced. In the puzzle of the rabbit and the duck, only percipients can determine the direction to observe the entity. In the aesthetic behavior, the percipients are active. Wolfgang Iser holds that only the reader can fill the "blanks" of the literary text. In the late period of the 1980s, the research of the literary translation and the reader-response theory has developed fast. However, the researches concerning the indeterminant factors that affect the choice of the words in the literary translation are not done in a complete and systematic way. To a certain extent, the translation quality of the literary works depends on translators. For the translators, whether to choose the proper words to translate the works or not will influence the effect of the literary translation.Research question:The thesis discusses the following question:In the literary translation, what are the factors that affect the indeterminacy of the choice of the words?Research objective:The research object of this thesis is the choice of the words. Based on the reader-response theory, this thesis discusses the indeterminant factors affecting the choice of the words in the literary translation to provide the new perspective of the translation for the translator. Through the analysis of the eight factors that affect the indeterminacy in the choice of the words in the literary translation, it puts forward the view that the translator must bring the subjective initiative into play to comprehend the deep meanings of the words based on the context. The translator should adopt the translation strategy flexibly so as to choose the proper words in the literary translation.Research method:The theoretical framework applied in this thesis is Iser's reader-response theory. This thesis discusses the indeterminant factors (including the era factor, the culture factor, the literary tradition factor, the aesthetic experience of the translator, the exertion of the subjective initiative of the translator, the congenital quality of the translator, the knowledge level and the language level of the translator) affecting the choice of the words in the literary translation through the comparison and the analysis of Shakespeare'Chinese versions by Zhu Shenghao and Liang Shiqiu.Research conclusion:Based on Iser's reader-response theory, we come to the following conclusions with the analysis of Shakespeare's Chinese versions of Zhu Shenghao and Liang Shiqiu:(1) The indeterminant factors in the choice of the words will have great effect on the literary translation. The translator is the reader. Before reading the literary work, the translator will make the analysis of the indeterminant factors that affect the choice of the words, which can help the translator have the deeper comprehension of the original literary works and grasp their language feature.(2) The congenital quality, the aesthetic experience, the exertion of the subjective initiative, the knowledge and the language level of everyone will have different effects on the choice of the words. However, the translator should bring the subjective initiative into play to comprehend the implied meaning of the literary work with the use of various translation strategies.In sum, this thesis discusses the indeterminant factors in the choice of the words through comparison and analysis of Shakespeare'Chinese versions by Zhu Shenghao and Liang Shiqiu, which will provide the new perspective for the research of the choice of the words in the literary translation. The translator should make the deep analysis of the indeterminant factors that affect the choice of the words in the literary translation.